Jagmeet Singh celebrates with supporters after winning the first ballot in the NDP leadership race to be elected the leader of the federal New Democrats in Toronto on Sunday, October 1, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris YoungChris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Almost six months ago, Jagmeet Singh became Federal NDP Leader. But do Canadians know what he stands for?

Singh has a talent for personal connection. He has intellect and insight, capabilities he used as a lawyer before politics. He understands what discrimination and exclusion feels like. He has a strong sense of empathy and social unity.

Jagmeet Singh has all the right instincts and experiences to represent the little guy, which is what the NDP is all about, when it’s at its best.

But so far he hasn’t brought those abilities to the kitchen tables of Canadians. And that has to change if Singh wants to be a contender for Prime Minister in 2019.

The polls vary, but they generally show Singh’s NDP higher now than Layton’s NDP was in the months prior to the 2011 election. But that’s no guarantee of repeating Layton’s success—or exceeding it, which is the goal. Singh needs a plan that talks directly to the challenges Canadians face everyday. And there are a couple big ones.

First, many Canadians are frustrated with the affordability of everyday life.

Affordability is a problem Canadians feel at the kitchen table. It’s true that family and friends are the best things in life. But having debts and no money to pay bills is a different kind of truth.

And now interest rates are increasing. Whether it’s tuition debts, car loans, credit cards or mortgages, Canadians’ borrowings are starting to cost more. The situation is getting more urgent.

A social democrat like Singh has the advantage. Liberals and Conservatives may not want to use government to make life more affordable. But that’s what the Tommy Douglas NDP did in building universal health care. It’s what the labour movement did when it won the fight for the Canada Pension Plan. Standing up for the people against powerful interests is what people expect from the social democratic movement.

Singh is already promoting some sweeping reforms—like pharmacare and public infrastructure—that would help affordability. But he hasn’t grounded them in the discussions happening at Canadians’ kitchen tables. Change that.

The second challenge is the benefits of economic growth. Politicians talk in numbers. Apparently, on average, the economy is terrific and the average person is doing great. But people don’t live in an average.

Politicians keep calling it mission accomplished when the top half starts feeling some benefits of growth. That’s not enough for a social democrat—growth isn’t real until everybody feels its benefit.

So Singh is right that our tax system must better share the benefits of growth. And he is right to criticize Trudeau’s infrastructure privatization, which robs Canadians of the full benefits of growth even though the full costs will be paid by them.

Today, politics quickly dissolves into meaningless babble or hyper-partisan blaming. That just extends a political status quo that isn’t working. At their kitchen tables, Canadians surely know they need something completely different. A politics that stands up for those struggling with everyday affordability and excluded from the benefits of growth would certainly qualify.

Tom Parkin is a former NDP staffer and social democrat media commentator.

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